TEN MEDFOBD MAIL-TRIBUNE
Tuesday Oct. 16. 1343
DIES WHEN JAP
SHIP GOES DOWN
Lt. Gordon Benson, son of
Mrs. Eve Benson 807 Alameda
atroet, Klamath Falls, was killed
while on a Japanese prison boat
in Suliic Bay on Dec. IS, 1844
according to word received by
his mother.
Lt. Benson camt to Medford
with his parents at the age of
four tnd made his home here
until his parents moved to Klanv
Bth Fails in 1938. While attend
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Lt. Gordon Btnion
InR the University of Oregon he
entered the army air corps and
took his training at San Diego,
Calif., Hemct, Calif., Randolph
Field and Kelly Field, Tex.; be
fore going overseas April 21
1941.
The last letter received by his
parent; was written Nov. 30
1941, a few days before the Pa
eific war broke out. Starting
Jan. 12, 1942, radio messages
were received once a month
from the licutenunt for three
months, after which followed
long lipse of news. In August,
1942, word was received
through War Corre apondent
Frank Hewlett, who said Lt,
Benson was with Gen. MacAr-
thur's army when lt retreated
to Ba'.oan, On May 11, 1043,
wire was received by his par
ents saying Lt. Benson was
prisoner of the Japanese.
Following announcement of
the sinking of the prisoner boat
In Sublc Bay, Mrs. Benson had
a premonition that all was not
well and wrote to the war ae
nartmrnt and to her son, Lt. Col.
Noel Benson, then In Florida,
who made a special trip to
Washington to find out the fate
tit his brother. Hope was still
held that he was yet a prisoner
and telephone calls were receiv
ed from men who had been fel
low prisoners, all with encour
rging news.
But on the evening of July 23
rnme a message from the war
department saying Lt. Benson
had died when the prisoner boat
was sunk.
The purple heart posthumous
ly awarded 1st Lt. Benson with
citations, wus recently received
by his parents.
P.-T. A. Activities
Washington P.-T.A.
First meeting of the fall for
Washington Parent -Teacher
asso'.'iiition will be held Friday,
Oct. 19, at 2:30 p. m. In the
school auditorium. A program
and entertainment have been
planned and it is stated that Girl
Scouts will rare for pre-school
children of mothers attending
the P.-T.A. gdlhering.
Last Friday afternoon mem
bers ol the executive committee
of Mie association entertained
teiielu-rs of the W s s hi n g t o n
ii-hool at a reception and tea at
the .n-'iool after classes were dis
missed. Aboct 25 were present
lor tin; ten. Mis. Hubert Church
Is president ol the association.
Freight Glider
Brings Lobsters
Teterboro, N. J., Oct. 18 (U.R)
A glider carrying fresh lobster
from New England was cut loose
over Teterboro air terminal and
landed without incident today,
two hours and five minutes after
it had been snatched by a tow
plane from Allerton Beach, Hull,
Mass.
The flight was said to be the
first successful commercial car
go-glider experiment.
HERSHOLT ELECTED
Hollywood, Oct. 16 (U.R)
Jean Hcrsholt, Danish-born char
acter actor who has appeared In
motion pictures for 3B years, to
day was elected president of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences. Ilersholt, former
vice president of the academy,
succeeds Producer Walter Wan
ger, president for the past six
years.
Competent Cast Will Present
Little Theater 'Ghost Train'
Rarely does there come into
the r.talm of the theatre such
spectre-like realism as is held
In "The Ghost Train" the three
act mvstcry-comcdy play that
kept London and Broadway on
its toes for over a year, and
which promises to be another
smash hit n southern Oregon
when the Little Theatre pro
duces Arnold Ridley's master
piece of wit and horror in Med
ford early In November.
The piay opens In the waiting
room of a small railway station
ft Clear Vale Junction, Maine.
Vernon F. Spencer, of Glcndive,
Mont., plays the role of Saul
Hodgkln, neurotic old station
master who putters and worries
his way through the play. Spen
cer, a Journalism graduate from
Montana State university, play
ed th lead In "Mystery at Mid
night" in Giendive several years
3go, and has also appeared in
rcveral other plays.
Th-5 action moves quickly as
the ca.'t appear'. . . all passen
gers who have unluckily missed
a train connection and must stay
in the haunted station all night.
Alvin Grund, a pr?-mcd student
from Drake University plays
Richard Winthrop a ruined bus
iness executive on the brink of
divorc? with his wife Elsie, act
ed by Charity Keeble of Atlanta.
Ga. Miss Keeble studied Shake
speare at Catherine Branson's
school In San Francisco and has
appeared in many stage produc
tions including James Barry's
"Mr. Pirn Passes By."
The newly weds Charles and
Pegiy Murdock, are enacted byj
Arthur D. Cross and Margaret
Ann Brown Cross, from Boul
der, Colo., p.ayed Cncle Stanley,
one ot the leads in "George
Washington Slept Here" and
also cppeard In Thornton Wil-
dcr's Pulitzer prize winning play
"The Skin of Our Teeth," at
University of Colorado.
Mis Brown, who plays the
part originally acted by Clau
dctta Colbert, is from Medford.
She is best remembered as part
of the cast of "Deadlier Than
The Male" last spring's Little
Theatre production.
The leading roles, those of a
"oiiist.-r school teacher and a
silly, fun-loving Englishman, are
played by Laura Porter of Ko
tliak, Alaska, and A. Robert
Hamilton of District Heights,
Maryland.
Mis Porter had the role of
Maxine in Deadlier Than The
Male" and has had parts in sev
eral other recent productions.
Hamilton, besides doing niono
logues played a dual role in his
home town production of "One
Wild Night " I
Lea Rasmussen of Pasadena,
Calif., plays the part of Julia
Price, an attractive, blonde
youni' woman who has been
driven partially insane by her
fear r' "The: Ghost Train." Miss
Rasmussen has done much Lit
tle Theatre work throughout
California and Oregon.
Eddie Gunger of Youngstown.
Ohio, plays the role of John
Sterling. Gunger, who Is a drum
mer, will return tf his contract
with Woody Herman's orchestra
as soon as he is discharged from
service.
Jackson, the detective. Is giv
en personality through the ef
forts of James K. Johnson, -Spokane,
Wash, who although new
to the stage, has been an eastern
Washington football and track
:tar.
ACTOR DIES
Santa Maria, Calif., Oct. 18
(U.R) Thomas Brennan, S3
known on the stage as Thomas
O'Brien, collapsed and died lasj
night at the conclusion of a USO
vaudeville act before thousands
of soldiers at Camp Cooke.
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